A turkey becomes a predator’s meal in farmer’s video

A freeze frame from Dave Zollinger's video of a fox hunting a wild turkey.

April 25, 2018

A fox in nature’s henhouse

MOUNTAIN — A fox was fit to be stuffed after preying on a wild turkey in a farmer’s field yesterday.

Dave Zollinger captured the life-and-death scene on video as the red canid stalked and hunted the big, exhausted bird off Crowder Rd.

“I was fixing drainage tiles in the field. It felt awesome watching nature do its thing,” says Zollinger, who happened upon the natural drama at about 8 a.m.

“When I got to the field the fox was chasing the turkey full out, it chased it towards me,” he says. “It took the fox quite a while to finish the kill. The fox kind of behaved like a cat, playing with the turkey. It only continued the attack when the turkey made a run for it.”

The doomed poultry bird appears to have been a sitting duck, too tired or unable to fly by the time Zollinger arrived in the field. The turkey hunkers down (video below) and presents its splayed tail feathers to the fox at one point, then takes off on foot while the wily predator easily keeps up at a trot.

Related, below: This “turkey” fares better with a sharp-toothed mammal in Dundas County. It’s a turkey vulture feeding on the carcass of what appears to be a beaver, in this clip taken near the Iroquois Locks on April 11.

Scroll down to share this article on social media. Scroll down to search nationvalleynews.com

Scroll down to share this article. Scroll down to search nationvalleynews.com. Scroll down to comment.